Month 1: Problem sizing
20 people met to size the problem
Hi 👋 ,
If you’re are here, it means that I took the freedom to subscribe you to my really closed newsletter. For the past month, I shared with 20 of you my wish to launch my own business in the Sales Perf industry. I received many feedbacks and intros that helped me validate a few steps. I created this bi-monthly/or monthly short newsletter to keep you updated with all my learnings and progress. It may be useful for you (sharing my learnings in the field), for me (making sure I am moving forward every 2 weeks/month & receiving feedback/intros) and for future founders (if this startup story comes to a success).
Key takeaways:
Problem confirmation: B2B websites poorly transform a lead into a prospect or deal.
B2B websites are designed to show, not to sell. Companies start by building a “showcase website” with Webflow before building a platform-oriented website"
Today:
I spent 1s to sign up / sign in / subscribe on a B2C website
And 10min to sign up / subscribe on the B2B website…
Solution blurb
NoName1 makes any BtoB website's sign-up flow a 1-click process. The technology is an API, similar to Stripe. It leverages a range of data points to offer a personalized and automated sales funnel. We reduce the time spent by a lead to subscribe to BtoB offers, thereby optimizing the performance of the sales funnel.
In the current Sales Perf’ industry, NoName1 lies at the heart of the inbound funnel. The website collects numerous leads from inbound marketing initiatives, which need to be transformed into a deal. The website serves as a tool to gather data and facilitate the conversion of leads into deals. For a low-touch sales cycle, NoName is a strong “product-led sales” (see graph below). However, for a high-touch sales cycle, NoName collects and transfers data to other sales stacks, increasing their chance of closing the deal.
Target market understandings
❌ Early-stage companies are targeting 1 or 2 sales funnels (mostly Personal network & Outbound)
❌ Enterprise & leading sales-lead companies are not agile enough (Enterprise) & already performing efficiently (Leading tech like Salesforce)
✅ Growing B2B SMBs & Startups are overwhelmed with new sales funnels, teams, and leads. They need to optimise any steps of their sales process to be cash efficient.
I faced 2 different business cases:
Low-touch sales cycle - my tool allows the customer to self sign-up on the B2B website
High-touch sales cycle - my tool allows the sales to collect all relevant data to make the closing more efficient
I don't know yet which business case to start with.
Challenges / Asks:
My biggest concern - is whether the problem is related to a tool issue or a People/Process issue.
See matured tech companies: we have cash and team and prefer customized approach to find the perfect solution for our product. Companies like Payfit, Ornikar or Pennylane may not adopt the same strategy to convert website leads into deals, so they need a costom-made solution (built today internally).
Find mates - CPO and CTO co-founders
I am looking for a killer team to start working together on this problem:
CPO - someone ready to help me in prioritizing the most pressing issues to address first. This entails developing a product roadmap.
CTO - someone who has experience scaling B2B SaaS from the outset. Someone who is well-versed in data, RGPD, APIs, and AI.
I I especially like highly complementary teams. My dream team is composed of rockstars from diverse genders, cultures, and seniority levels.
Note: I am currently working full-time for Inovexus, a job that I love and which exposes me to talented founders, investors, and mentors. Starting from May, I will be working part-time (2/5) on this NoName company. As soon as I see the momentum for NoName picking up, I will engage myself full-time in this new venture.
If you like this reading, feel free to send me your thoughts and intros to help me solve my current challenges ;)
All the best,
📚 Favorite Sales Perf readings:
The evolution of the B2B go-to-market tech stack: a few areas to watch, Solène Brébant, Balderton
Redefining go-to-market in a digital world: B2B strategies, Solène Brébant, Balderton
The $150M secret, Guillaume Moubeche, Lemlist
The mom test, Fob Fitzpatrick